An older post about my art corner

When I first started art journaling I used our dining room table. I just taped brown paper over the top and hoped for the best. When I kept on art journaling I started thinking of what I wanted and what would fit in the small space I use.

Our church has a garage sale every May for the youth to raise money for their summer camp trip. I went to pick Shelby up from youth one Wed. night and they had most of the items stored in the back of the fellowship hall. I saw a huge old teachers desk and started looking at it. It's an ugly brown but it had a lot of drawers and a glass top which I loved. It even has the wood parts on each side above the drawers that slide out. I use those for my laptop when I'm watching an art video and the other one is for my heat gun and other things while I'm working. I love my huge desk but I'd really love to paint it. It's very heavy though and I'd have to move it outside to paint it. So for now it's brown.

About a year later we were in New Orleans and went in a thrift store. I found an old brown chair that goes with the big large teachers desk. It's great and I'd love to paint it too. It squeaks a lot but I love it.

The photo below shows one of my cheap small bookshelves that I use for supplies. On top are three baskets and a small container holding my handmade stamps that I've purchased. The left basket holds larger items and brown envelopes with my online classes pdf's that I printed out and have yet to work on. The middle basket holds the things that I want to be able to find quick and anything new gets put in this basket. The third basket that you can't see holds all of my mini books that I have to work in.

The second shelf holds different art mediums, some speciality paint and sprays are in the Orla Kiely basket. Each of the clear containers holds different things. I have each one of those labeled. My watercolors, watercolor palette and Caron d Arche set. On the bottom shelf I have scrapbook paper kits stacked double. The two small containers with the blue tops hold duct tape.



The next photo is of my top right drawer. It holds a lot of my paint I want to use now. It's pretty deep so I have to move it all around to find what I want.



This is the bottom top left drawer. It holds a lot of my extra journals, catalogs for collage, some pens, and lots of other things. This is the largest drawer, it was used for file folders I'm sure. It's very deep.



This is the bottom left drawer. It's a normal size and not as deep. I have handmade cards, extra paper, extra film for my instanx camera and more journals. It also holds my Becky Higgins books that were released years ago.



This is a better photo of the baskets on the top . I forgot there is also one behind the middle basket. It holds taller things that I want to use now.



This is on the left side of my desk. I have one of those organizers you can buy from Michaels and I stick ephemera that I want to keep and get to quickly in the top. The drawer holds extra paint that I'm not using right now. On top is 3 cigar boxes. One holds tags so I can find them quickly, the next one holds some of my washi/masking tape that I want to use now. The rest is in a container. I switch it out every month or so. The one in the back holds extra photos and Starbucks cards that I collect. I'm not sure why I collect them, I just do and have a lot.

On my desk is my cigar box holding extra pens that I want handy, and the one next to that holds my handmade stamps that I made. I have a Brighton jewelry tin that holds my handmade alphabet stamp set I made. I have extra carving rubber, and the stamps I'm wanting to use right now out. The others that I like are stored in a Rubbermaid container. All my other stamps are in our barn until I get the urge to go through them and switch out again. You can see another cigar box holding masking tape, this is mainly 7 Gypsies. And I also have the MT skinny tape in the container.



The middle of my desk holds a lot of stuff. I've had the Making Memories storage container for a long time. It holds tools, brushes, rulers, scissors, plain tape on chop sticks that I saved from different restaurants. Great to hold tape.

Right in front of that is a small basket Shelby made for me at camp. It holds adhesive and a lot of other little things. The gold container is from one of my favorite perfumes from Anthropology. It's got my pencils in different sizes. I have ink pads in front of that, mainly the ones I use. The others are on the other small bookshelf on the right. I have a large thimble that belonged to my son's great grandmother, it's over flowing with more pens. Next to that is a metal cigar container that holds my sprays and daubers. The turquoise planter holds all of my 1 inch bristle paint brushes. The S cup holds my newer paint brushes. I have spray water bottles and one with black Golden paint mixed with water.



A view of the right side. The book in the back is the journal I recently made. The turquoise container under it holds a lot of my collage papers. I also have the Limited Edition Sketchbook Project journal out because I really need to start on it.



This is from the end of my desk looking toward the wall. The top basket has misc. things in it. The right side has my '98 numbers and a drawing my step daughter did for me. I have my Liquitex bottles lined up so I can see them. Each of the white organizers holds paper and a few other things. My stencils are hanging on the side of the kitchen cabinet on a clip board. On the first shelf to the left is some more of my ink pads and my punches that I use a lot. Any of my paper that comes in a huge roll is on the right, not shown. The bottom of the shelf on the right but not shown has my huge container of rubber stamps and on the right is art books. The rest of those take up a lot of room on my bookshelves in my bedroom.



The middle drawer holds more tape, extra brushes, my shiva sticks, puffy paint and four containers of gel, souffle, glitter and other pens.




Behind my chair and against the wall I have magazines stacked to go through, several large magazine holders that keep my binders with my current classes in them for easy use. I also have paper stored underneath my desk in a slim 12x12 container. It goes back pretty deep so there's lots of room.

Hope you enjoyed the tour. My husband calls it "my stuff". No one touches anything on my desk or near it or I won't be able to find it. My scissors seem to find their way into Shelby's room and not return though. I have to go find them and collect them all.